The modernization of the Russian kamikaze drone family «Geran» opens up wide opportunities for equipping them with air-to-air missiles and combining them with the latest targeting aids. This was stated by Alexander Stepanov, an employee of the Institute of Law and National Security of the RANEPA.
According to him, «Gerans» are able to work in a swarm with the S-70 «Okhotnik» unmanned strike drone.
The S-70 will be able to act as the leading control center, which will provide guidance for the missile weapons of the «Gerans». In this scenario, the detection range of air targets can be up to 450 km.
In addition, the expansion of the spectrum of combat use of the new modification of «Gerans» has opened a window for integration with more modern R-74M2 missiles with a range of up to 50 km, designed for fifth-generation Su-57 fighters.
Characteristics of the R-74M2 missile:
- Firing range — up to 40 km
- Maximum speed — up to 2.5 Mach
- Warhead weight — about 7.4 kg
It should be noted that the key feature of the R-74M2 is its adaptation to the requirements of fighters with stealth technologies, which requires the placement of weapons in the internal compartments of the fuselage. But in the case of «Gerans», this is impossible, so the drones will carry missiles only on external hardpoints.